Welcome to the El Camino Baptist Church blog. We wanted a place where our ministry leaders could share things that God has laid on their hearts. Please feel free to comment and join in the discussion as we share how God is moving through His church.Other places to find us on the web are our website, Youtube, and Facebook. You can also check out Hoss' music blog at hosshughes.com.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Six Hindrances to Becoming a Disciple Maker

Six Hindrances to Becoming a Disciple Maker

Skip Gray is a friend and mentor. Over the years, he has shared his faith and wisdom with many. In 1978 he published six things that keep people from becoming Reproducers – Disciple Makers. Our goal as a church this year is that each person at El Camino become a person who “Wins One and Teaches One.” In a nutshell that is Disciplemaking. Let me give you in summary form Skip’s reasons why people don’t become reproducers.

1. Laziness – A lazy Christian will never be used by the Spirit of God to be the foundation for spiritual generations. Provers 13:4 “The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

2. Busyness – Individuals can often create the illusion of great accomplishments by appearing to be continually busy. But if you analyze their activities, you may realize that the significance and value of their busyness is minor. God's priority of life is to reproduce disciples. Busyness keeps one from doing what God has commanded to do.

3. Prayerlessness – Jesus when surrounded by pressures withdrew and prayed. When we are pressured, what is our response? Pressure should result in prayer and prayer results in power from God.

4. Shortsightedness – Esau sold his birthright for the sake of a quick meal. He was the founder of the “Now Generation.” We have a spiritual birthright. It is our privilege to be the foundation of many generations but too often many will forsake our spiritual birthright just to satisfy our own momentary pleasures.

5. Indecisiveness – If God is God, serve Him. If there is another god, serve him. Jesus will not let you be indecisive. No man can serve two masters. Serve God or the flesh. Choose whom you serve.

6. Unconfessed Sin – I see, I covet, I take, I hide. That is the pattern of sin throughout Scripture. 1 John 1:9 is the cure but if we don’t, it hinders our prayers and relationship with God and others. Psalm 66:18,19.

How tragic is the Christian who is hindered from his or her potential as a spiritual parent to produce generations of believers. Laziness, busyness, prayerlessness, shortsightedness, indecisiveness, and unconfessed sin can all be hindrances to the Christian. And yet, this need not be so, for God has provided power to overcome these barriers. As we seek His power, we can work toward fulfilling Jesus’ command of making disciples of all nations and become the foundation of generations of men and women. (Skip Gray)

1 comment:

I would add "Distractions" and "Misplaced Priorities" to the list. It's simple: If our hearts are aligned with God's priorities, they become our priorities. If not, we will attend to the things in life that are most important to us - our real priorities.